Unknown 9: Awakening (XS)
by
Lee Mehr
, posted 44 minutes ago / 143 Views
Reviewer’s Note: All of my experience is based on a post-launch title update, which was effectively the 1.1 version of the game.
With a subtitle as blatant as this one, practically anyone can surmise that the creators of the Unknown 9 IP have grander plans in mind. Although its first foray into games, the term “Awakening” is a tad deceptive. As a primer before Bandai Namco’s original announcement, a years-long transmedia push had been fomenting, in the form of a unique comic book series, web series, podcast dramatization, and a promised trilogy of novels (two of three have been released as of writing); and yet, it’s strange to think how little mainstream attention this multi-front blitz has garnered. It’s reminiscent of the Syfy TV show Defiance and its companion MMO from the early-mid 2010s; alongside making certain game decisions influence the show, several other promotional gimmicks were used to try making this the next big sci-fi universe. Commendable feats of cross-promotional world-building aside, this new franchise is going to live or die by the quality of its content, which makes Awakening’s rough first impression such a damn shame.
This story begins in an alternate history of the early 20th century. After a necessary – albeit overstuffed – exposition dump about “The Unknown 9,” various forces at play, and so on, you step into the boots of an Indian woman named Haroona Gayen. Her mystical preceptor, Reika, isn’t pleased with you tagging along for a mission, but the bad guys are trying to harness a dangerous magical power so there are more pressing matters at hand. Alongside learning more of this world’s lexicon – from both the dialogue and journal entries – you’re also mechanically understanding Haroona’s physical prowess through Awakening’s readymade action-adventure template: a line-of-sight (LOS) stealth system with convenient tall grass patches, basic light/heavy fisticuff strikes, scaling across specifically-textured walls, and squeezing through tight spaces serving as disguised loading screens. Now this is blockbuster game design!
Haroona’s Quaestor abilities also feel pre-packaged by dozens of other franchises. First and foremost: what exactly is a Quaestor? At first glance, I’d liken it to a Jedi without a lightsaber. There’s essentially Force Push and Pull, with the former having an obvious effect whilst the latter can set up a nasty uppercut. But as you unlock more “Umbric” abilities, she becomes more like a Dishonored protagonist from a third-person perspective. Its version of Detective Mode highlights any enemies, friendlies, and special interactables within a vision cone; dangerous environmental objects can be telekinetically triggered from a distance; and she can “Step” into an enemy and temporarily possess them. In essence, a Quaestor is someone with a special connection to another dimension that’s able to harness it for unique stealth, possession, and melee enchantments. A multi-dimensional warrior-witch, more or less.
The flexibility of options and Reflector Entertainment’s lenient hand makes her feel like a pulpy superheroine; at the same time, she’s not invincible. So, there’s a demand on higher difficulties to treat enemy engagements like The Last of Us or similar “stealth-lite” titles: break LOS in grass or cover, make an Umbric distraction (Ripple) to lure a guard, silent takedown, and repeat. Perhaps too routine at this point, but still kinesthetically rewarding. Despite doing it a hundred times, and only having a handful of unique animations, it never felt old to rip a guard’s soul essence out of their body and punch it into a wisp of vaporous smoke. All it takes is one nuance – one wrinkle no one’s done quite like that before – to sell this world as something fresh.
Although the concept succeeds at piquing anyone’s interest, mismanaged design diminishes its greater potential. It falls into the same traps as its bigger-budget contemporaries: with no ability to drag & hide bodies, you can create this loop of alerting enemies to a corpse and picking off the last remaining loner after their suspicious phase winds down. And though temporarily cloaking on command (Shroud) is a great feature – especially since it’s balanced by Haroona’s limited mana meter – it’s odd how effective breaking LOS behind anything is just as effective. Even on the highest “Awakened” difficulty, most enemies are too slow at spotting her and too hasty in giving up a search party. The final quarter has some workarounds and level design tweaks to ameliorate this issue, but it sticks out like a sore thumb for the previous three.
Melee combat is basically “we have (Nordic) God of War at home;” having said that, the only modern action title I’ve played that manages its zoomed-in camera competently is the first Hellblade. And it’s a shame Awakening fumbles the execution when these dynamics are so interesting. Balancing between light attack combo, a windup block-breaker hit, and her Umbric punches can create a special flow. The best way to handle tanks and bosses is landing a flurry of spirit punches to open them up to a burst attack. It’s a visually-rewarding alternate method which would be more enjoyable if targeting wasn’t as shaky as Michael J. Fox waiting tables while riding a unicycle. Good luck trying to single out a weakened opponent within a cluster of three or more. It’s better to opt for other strategies at that point.
Fortunately, the aforementioned possession is a viable option. After selecting your target, time outside of that person freezes and you’re able to use their unique ability (gunfire, AoE ground pound, etc.) against themselves and/or their allies. While starting off as a rudimentary one-off gag, acquiring more ‘Step Tokens’ as time goes on enables Haroona to possess multiple people in one sitting, potentially killing every enemy at once with good timing and luck. So as to avoid abusing this trick, you must replenish these tokens with successful physical strikes and takedowns. Maximizing collateral damage through this may be the gameplay’s best highlight, even if becoming repetitive and one-note over time.
And that’s the overarching problem: the pieces are there, but it can never maintain a consistent rhythm. Each interlocking mechanism – combat, stealth, powers – makes complete sense in its conceptual stage; further, the drip-feed of new enemy variants and special environmental hazards does enough to avoid it feeling obscenely repetitive. Even the albeit basic exploration for lore doodads and experience tokens for Haroona’s upgrade tree is well-measured. But then the more hectic battles cause the framerate to dip, the cracks in enemy AI become more prominent, certain progress-halting bugs pop up, and so on and so forth. Something between the planning and execution stage gets lost in translation. What’s left is a janky stealth-action hybrid with pockets of fun through creative exploitation.
“Intriguing potential, shoddy execution” also sums up Awakening’s narrative to a tee. I can’t help but laugh at certain world-building elements: even in an alternate universe with fantastical zeppelins, a unique power source discovered by tapping into another dimension, and different wars that’ve transpired, British colonialism of India remains the singular constant. That detail informs Haroona’s specific hang-up with a secondary white character going “wherever he so pleases.” But once you get past those throwaway lines and her overly-talkative excesses, she does have some character growth that does feed into the grander implications of this world. Anya Chalotra also gives a commendable performance in conveying that growth, especially given Cory Herndon’s clunky dialogue. While not the most well-defined & eloquent group, some of her companions breathe enough levity and style to avoid it feeling stale; at the same time, having a supporting character I’d previously didn’t know existed save the crew at a critical plot point is such a basic storytelling 101 fumble.
The marginal successes begin tearing at the seams with the grander mysteries at play that – despite being reminded of them over and over again – never really connect. There’s an overreliance on collectibles to grasp all of the stakes at play; the amount of telling versus showing truly boggles the mind, especially when you have an entirely different dimension that records all of the recorded past. A better example of collectible-heavy storytelling would be this year’s Alone in the Dark. That also relied on some background reading, but both the succinct amount and the context of your investigation are easier to understand than learning a bunch of new jargon here. Awakening puts the cart before the horse, emphasizing the wider world’s potential doom without giving us enough building blocks to fully commit each character’s struggle.
This is further sullied by lackluster presentation. Despite trying to emulate big-budget games’ tropes, this is a middle-market title ($50/$60 Deluxe Edition) through and through. Although many of its exotic backgrounds are quite detailed, budget limitations are immediately apparent with its bland character models and less-detailed level design. And even by the lowered expectations against today’s blockbusters, other contemporaries within its class (like A Plague Tale: Requiem) easily outshine it because of stronger art design and craftsmanship. Hell, even crucial cutscenes are rushed and choppy. That may seem inconsequential at first blush, but decent cutscenes could have gone a long way in emphasizing Haroona’s struggle or a villain’s ultimate defeat; instead, grand escapes and certain boss deaths end with a whimper. Reflector was simply too overwhelmed – be it financially or otherwise – to properly make a globe-trotting, 10-hour adventure.
Putting the cart before the horse is Reflector’s folly in general. Even before Unknown 9: Awakening’s announcement, there’d already been two released novels that built up its alternate history, tone, and so on. Various other transmedia concepts followed suit. That concrete foundation, alongside its various high-budget game inspirations, seemed like surefire wins, especially with its more modest middle-market price. But then the rest of the game – presentation, storytelling, game design, etc. – has to be filled in and each individual category comes with its own set of problems. There’s something to admire in its audacious transmedia crossovers, but it’s a shame this first game can’t rise to the occasion.
Contractor by trade and writer by hobby, Lee’s obnoxious criticisms have found a way to be featured across several gaming sites: N4G, VGChartz, Gaming Nexus, DarkStation, and TechRaptor! He started gaming in the mid-90s and has had the privilege in playing many games across a plethora of platforms. Reader warning: each click given to his articles only helps to inflate his Texas-sized ego. Proceed with caution.
This review is based on a retail copy of Unknown 9: Awakening for the XS
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